Jan 28 - The backstay is repaired, and other projects

Joe Schmick, a local rigger, took the backstay down and it took Matt and I about an hour and a half to measure, cut the new 1 x 19 wire piece, take off and clean the Hayn Hi-Mod terminal fittings, and reattach everything ready for hoisting. We found two broken wires in the outside strands; very interesting in that the terminal attached only 38 inches from the upper backstay toggle. Everything went smoothly and the windlass worked fine to hoist Joe back up the mast. It turned out that the steel roll pin which attaches the windlass motor to the gearbox had partially sheared, and that finally explained why we didn't have a reliable windlass! It would work under load, then slip, then work a bit again...Thanks to Richard of sv Before for all his help in diagnosing and helping me fix the big Maxwell. We've used the main halyard thru a turning block to the windlass to hoist me to the masthead for years, so it was good to have it back in form. Yes, I bought a few roll pins for spares! We also put on the jib (North Sails put a new Sunbrella protective cover on it), and attached our new jib sheets and furling line. We're starting to look pretty spiffy! Onward to our list of other projects before haul out next week....
(The picture is of sunrise from our cockpit)

Jan 26 - The Good and the Bad News - What else is new?

The Good: I hooked up the two new solar panels (in series, 24V, thru their own
circuit breaker) into the Outback FlexMax 60 Regulator, and we're drawing amps like
crazy! This Honolulu sun is a force to be reckoned with! When the bimini arch
extension is completed, two more SolarWorld 175W solar panels mounted on top
of the 1/2" expanded PVC cover will be installed, thus giving Infini 700W of solar
power. Nice.
The Bad: I was up the mast the other day dressing it out; spreader tip protectors,
radar reflector, cotter pin check, etc...and found a broken wire in the backstay! It was in the short piece of wire from the upper backstay toggle to the entry of the Hayn Hi-Mod terminal which fits into the upper insulator. Wow - talk about a rude surprise! If I hadn't found that broken wire, eventually the mast would, most likely, have come tumbling down. All the other terminal attachments are intact, and we've taken apart a bunch of them since installing the new turnbuckles and cutting new wire lengths, so I'm not sure what happened. The backstay is, like the headstay and inner forestay, toggled top and bottom, but somewhere in this last season's 8000 nm of cruising a strand of the 1 x 19 wire broke. Of course, it was in a tough place to see, so those regular inspection intervals up the mast are mandatory.

Jan. 18 - Solar Panel Installation

We've been busy installing our first two solar panels onto the arch. The old 75W
panels have been removed, and the footprint of the new SolarWorld 175W panels is
quite a bit larger. They attach by three custom built clamps which allow rotation on a delrin bearing, which in turn rotate on a PVC sleeve that goes around the 2"
aluminum pipe. Lining up the panels and drilling the clamp holes was a typical boat
exercise, but the end results had the two panels on either side of the backstay within a 1/16" tolerance of being parallel to each other, so we done good! The other two panels should be a lot easier to install and will mount on expanded PVC sheeting
which will form our new permanent bimini on top of an aluminum arch extension
going from the present forward arch leg to the boom gallows. Got it? We had the
welder out to the boat the other day taking measurements along with me, so
hopefully it won't take too long to fabricate the extension. The trickiest part will be clamping it to the present arch; the forward part just thru bolts to the boom gallows via a small welded plate. Another work in progress! Meanwhile, our 300 pounds of "stuff" that was shipped from Florida to Hawaii arrived yesterday afternoon, and there's even less (if you can imagine) room to move down below than before....We finished off the afternoon by seeing our friends John and Melinda who are from Port Townsend, Wa, and the proud owners of the classic 73' wooden schooner "Mycia." They brought their friend Jane, from Oahu, with them, and we enjoyed a wonderful Monday night BBQ here at the HYC along with Dave & Sherry (Soggy Paws), Lee & Richard (Before), and Rick & Liisa (Pueo). Another really fun get together!

Jan. 6, 2011

After a long uneventful flight we're back at the HYC. We were welcomed with a foul odor aboard---we finally got the elusive rat that came aboard...at Hilo? The decon (poison) was brought out when the traps, sticky pads and everything else failed to get him. We had been feeling so lucky never having to deal with critters, having heard stories of other boaters dilemmas. The cleanup and odor neutralizing remedies have kept us busy.
It's great to be back with old and new friends. We've seen Lee and Richard of sv Before, Mike & Veronica of sv Apple, Ray & Kai of sv Zion, Dave & Sherry of sv Soggy Paws, as well as the great group of folks here at the HYC. Also of note is that we've met Rick and Liisa aboard their Westsail 43 Pueo here at the HYC. It's amazing - there were 65 Westsail 43's made. We have no idea how many are out cruising, but to have two 43's about 100 yards away from each other is an awesome coincidence! HAPPY 2011 EVERYONE!

Goodbye Florida

We'll miss family and friends....we had a wonderful visit while here! We were so busy, and of course experienced the good (plenty of that, with family and friends here for Christmas and New Year's - the house stayed crowded!) with the bad (not too much of that - we didn't let the fact of our car's transmission giving out on the toll road to pick up the grandkids in Orlando stop our upbeat mood! We had freezing cold followed by wonderful weather....and it was great to have all the kids home at one time. The boys continued their tradition of a New Year's Polar Plunge. Last year they were all in the Netherlands...this year they jumped in our Gulf of Mexico canal's 50 degree water; lots of pictures duly documented their exploits. We departed without the opportunity to see some of our friends we didn't have the time to hook up with - next time!

12-10-10 We're taking off...

We're leaving for Florida later this afternoon, just in time for the first heavy rains Honolulu has seen in a long while. The rigging project was completed yesterday, with new Schaefer double jaw headstay toggles for the forestay, backstay and staysail. Lefiel Mast supplied us with new tangs and bolts for the upper, intermediate and lower shrouds. New wire lengths were cut for the upper cap shrouds, intermediates and the lower portion of the backstay below the insulator, and the new Hayn turnbuckles were fitted; we then redid the Hayn Hi-Mod terminal ends. The great news was that the SS wire and terminal fittings looked like new, even though I installed them about 5 years ago (btw, I used 3M 5200 in the terminals). We still have just a bit of mast and spreader work to finish up, like remounting the radar reflector, spreader boots and shroud covers, then have to tune the rig. Last week the serviced injector pump and injectors were reinstalled, and the Perkins is running fine. I also found time to uninstall our Village Marine Little Wonder 150 watermaker, which is now available and for sale to a new owner and many more years of service. (The unit is listed on the SSCA and Westsail Owners Association Bulletin Boards in the Items for Sale section). We have about 20 packages waiting for us in Florida, not including our new Frigoboat unit that our friends have shipped to Honolulu already. So, our upcoming visit will be mostly to see our family and friends, with just a little work thrown in such as hunting down parts to bring back with us in Jan. We hope everyone has a healthy, happy and blessed Holiday season as well as awesome sailing, and we'll add more to this blog upon our return.

11-12-10 Fun & Games

Matt returned at 0540 this morning, sporting a brand new souvenir, a birthday present to himself-- a Samoan tattoo. We had birthday cake after the hamburger grill out after the Friday night race; Michael again joined Zion and they had a great time and also placed pretty high on the race list.

Our "to do" list is extensive, as this will be the last (somewhat) convenient place to do, or have, work done. There's a lot of stuff being shipped to us, as upgrades and improvements continue aboard. Locally, finding reliable craftsmen has been a challenge, as many folks don't return calls, or are "no shows" on previously scheduled jobs. We rely on word of mouth of several of the Yacht Club members to steer us in the right direction, and even then, it seems some folks recommended just don't bother to follow up. At any rate, our dodger is off the boat as we tore one of the window zippers in Panama. The Perkins fuel injection pump has leaked since French Polynesia, and has been pulled, and along with the injectors, sent for servicing and repair. I've also arranged for a pressure test to be done on the valves to ensure that we don't need an overhaul before departing next season. The rigger has been busy, as we've pulled the original Lefiell tangs off the mast and I'll be replacing them as well as the original Navtec turnbuckles. Although five years ago I replaced all the 3/8" SS standing rigging and used all new Hayn Hi-Mod terminals, I didn't replace the (now) 32 year old tangs or turnbuckles. Considering Infini has already been thru one circumnavigation and is now well on her way towards a second, the SS metal fatigue and metal "cycles" take their toll. We don't see any cracks or obvious problems with anything we've removed, but I think prudence is necessary and feel it will be money well spent. The watermaker project is progessing very slowly. Hunting down the myriad parts, both large and small, is taking days of time on the phone and internet and has been a real headache. I've ordered the Frigoboat system for our freezer, and look forward to installing the keel cooler when we haul out for bottom work in Jan or Feb. The boat is a bit disorganized, but we're trying to keep things as neat as possible, all things considered! So, that's a brief summary of some, but certainly not all, the ongoing projects we're dealing with on a daily basis. We're keeping busy!

11-5-10 Friday

We've been having a wonderful time here at the Hawaii Yacht Club. The YC members see transient boats come and go regularly, and are used to extending their hospitality. We try to reciprocate by getting involved in many of the activities here: a regular morning coffee clatch, Friday night races, Monday night BBQ's, afternoon yoga classes twice a month, and various special events as they occur. And we've only been here a few weeks! We've both also visited several doctors and dentists for routine exams. We haven't gone out to eat that often, but one notable place was the Spaghetti Factory, where we accompanied our friends Ray and Ramona, and their children Kai, Kiana and Kahealani. The kids have become accomplished Farkle players and even play in the car as they're being driven around! On the home front, Matt's returning Friday morning from American Samoa, and various boat projects are getting started, which will be discussed in another blog entry. It's also a bit easier to get around, as our friends Dave and Sherry (s/v Soggy Paws) returned to the mainland for a visit and left their car for us to use. M's been busy ordering stuff, and Sue is once again wondering how it's all going to fit aboard the bulging Infini.
The picture is from our visit to the Old Spaghetti Factory.